Innocence
by Clarinetist
Summary: Little!Kiba and Little!Shino oneshot. Slight yaoi. Documents the first few meetings of Kiba and Shino at the age of six. KibaShino, ShinoKiba.


**A/N: I've been feeling really inspired lately, for some odd reason. I guess my Muse came back from vacation. I got this idea during Geometry today. Then my teacher yelled at me for writing when I should've been drawing shapes. Yep. That totally makes sense.**

**Mindless ShinoKiba Fluff. Little!Kiba and Little!Shino.**

0o0o0

It was a dreary day in March. The clouds were blocking the bright sunlight, preventing it from nourishing the hungry, deprived ground. Spring was almost in Konoha, and everyone was rejoicing, except for the people who hated spring, especially the Aburames and the Inuzukas. Spring meant mating season, which meant more time spent trying to control the overactive animals as their only thought was of their primal instincts.

One such member of said clans, however, knew none of this. Kiba Inuzuka was pacing aimlessly around the swing set on the small-and only-playground in the village. His hair was arranged messily on his head, as if he had been in a hurry to get out of the house. His mother had scolded him when he had tried to take one of his sister's pups with him.

"But I only want to play with him!" protested Kiba, pouting, his expression perfectly matching the puppy-dog eyes that most children learn when they are trying to get something they want.

"You'll get your own companion when this year's litter comes in. Soon, so you can stop bothering your sister, all right?" His mother admonished him.

"Fine," mumbled Kiba, angrily stomping down the threshold of his house. The effect, however, was ruined by his astounding ability to have the worst of luck at the most embarrassing time. Kiba tripped and fell flat on his face into a pile of mud.

He was ushered back into the house by his annoyed mother, cleaned up, and then sent back out to play again. She warned him not to talk to strangers, yell if anyone tried to hurt him, and come right home after he was finished playing. Nodding, he absentmindedly stared at a passing cloud that took the shape of a dog, just like the one he was aching to have.

As he sat on the top of the slide, he wondered why it was so dark out. Was Kami-sama upset? Or were the clouds crying? He never got a straight answer out of his mother when he asked her this, and all she did was say "If you really want to know so much, go be a scientist," and then she laughed like it was the funniest joke in the world.

Kiba, again, had bad luck. As he contemplated his mother's strange ways, he slid down the slide face first, still being too small to stop himself from landing on his mug.

And on top of someone else.

He hurriedly got up, hoping he hadn't hurt whoever it was, but was confused when he realized that the person that had been there several seconds ago was gone. He looked around and saw a boy about his own age standing near the seesaw, looking at Kiba as if he had never seen a regular human before.

Kiba reviewed the child standing before him. They were about the same height, Kiba probably only being a few inches taller. He wore a long coat and big black glasses that obscured his eyes. The young Inuzuka was puzzled as to how the boy had gotten from the slide to the seesaw so fast. Forgetting his mother's rule not to talk to strangers, he approached the other child.

"Hi there. My name's Kiba! What's yours? Would you like to be my friend?" He stuck his hand out like he had seen his mother do on the few occasions she had important people over, but the boy stared at it like it was an alien appendage. Kiba awkwardly put his hand back to his side and waited for a response.

He hesitated before speaking, like it was a foreign motion that took getting used to. "I guess. My name's Shino," whispered the boy quietly, and that was the end of that. Shino neither spoke to Kiba nor looked at him for the remainder of the afternoon. He studiously ignored the canine-like child in favor of talking to himself.

Now, children are not taught about what is proper or improper for a very long time in their lives. So Kiba, being young as he was, saw absolutely no problem with Shino talking to himself, and saw it as if it was a normal habit, which to most grown people, it is not. He happily played by himself for the rest of his time at the park, and then got up to leave a few hours later. "Bye Shino! See you tomorrow!" he yelled, getting no response in return.

Kiba walked home that day feeling very happy that he had made a new friend. He opened the door to his house. The first person he saw was his sister. "Hana-nee! Guess what, guess what, guess what?"

"What is it, Kiba?" chuckled Hana, amused by his excitement.

"I made a friend today! His name's Shino, and he's my age, and I'm taller than him!"

Hana laughed again, happy that her little brother was getting along well with kids his age. She nudged him in the direction of his bedroom and told him that he should probably take a nap. Kiba yawned tiredly and was soon asleep.

0o0o0

For the next several weeks Kiba would go to the park and see Shino there. Bit by bit, Shino began to open up a bit more. About a month after they had first met, Shino actually started responding to questions that Kiba asked him.

"What are your mommy and daddy like?" asked Kiba one bright day. Shino was standing by the swings while Kiba gazed at the blue atmosphere above him.

"They're quiet. My whole family's quiet. You can almost never hear anything if you walk through the clan ground, except near the hive houses."

"Hive houses?" inquired Kiba, confused. Bugs had hives, not people. Were Aburames bugs?

"We have bugs in us. My whole family. We get hives when we turn six. I'm getting one soon. Do you think that's gross?" questioned Shino, nervous for once.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Kiba. "That has got to be one of the most awesome things I've ever heard! My family gets a dog when we turn six. I'm getting mine in a few weeks! Together, he and I are going to be the best ninja and nin-dog pair in all of Konoha!"

Shino smiled encouragingly. Kiba continued. "Then how about we become the best ninja team in all of Konoha? With someone else, because we have to be a three-person team, but still! Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Yeah," Shino nodded. "Yeah, it would be." There was a comfortable silence between the two of them. Shino slowly leaned towards Kiba, and Kiba automatically turned his head to meet his. Their eyes met briefly before their lips met. It was quick, amateur, and childish. When Kiba moved away, he looked at Shino innocently.

"What was that for, Shino-kun?"

"I see my mother and father do that, and when I asked them why, they said it was because they loved each other. So I thought I'd show you how much I loved you," said Shino naively.

"Okay!" replied Kiba happily as he pecked Shino on the lips. "I love you too."

They spent the rest of the afternoon blissfully talking about their hopes and dreams until it started to get dark. They said their goodbyes and walked to their respective clan compounds, each thinking of how they would spend the remainder of their days in each other's time.

0o0o0

**A/N: There you have it, random KibaShino adorableness. Hope you enjoyed it. Sayounara!**


End file.
